Friday, February 29, 2008

Is it a Bribe?

Dad is back from the trip. Had fun in Orlando but it got very cold unexpectedly Tuesday night after a huge storm came through. I ended up having to buy a sweatshirt at the Harley Davidson store across the street from the hotel.

On my way back yesterday through the Orlando airport I had a lot of time to kill. I saw the Disney shop and wandered in looking for something to get Ty. And there it was... the small toy that had eluded us all throughout the xmas shopping season... a Dinoco Chick Hicks! Now let me explain for a second for those who may not understand that one:

Ty is obsessed with the Pixar movie Cars. We have all sorts of toys, posters and collectibles scattered about his room. During the film there is a brief daydream from the star, Lightning, who imagines his nemesis Chick Hicks winning the big race and getting the sponsorship that he wants. Chick is normally a green car, but when he gets the sponsorship from Dinoco, he gets a blue paint job. So Disney makes a ton of these collectible die cast cars (think Hot Wheels) and there was a super hard to find one of this car I just described. I immediately snagged it.

Now when you find a super special present like this it is hard to just give it to your child without any special occasion, and especially since I already had a few things I was bringing home already. So I thought it would be the perfect reward for something he would accomplish. And that will be for when he dunks his head completely underwater during our swimming lessons. He has been afraid to cross that barrier and I have signed him up for lessons leading up to spring break so that we can have more fun in the pool. So is this a bribe? Perhaps. But don't all of us parents do things like this? It is positive reinforcement I figure and in the end we are both happy.

I guess I do bribe my kids. Geesh, sounds kinda bad, but I know many that do it. My daughter has been obsessing over a new video that just came out, so I bought it and now it is sitting on the shelf. When she completes the tasks I have given her, it's hers. Hey, I have to get something out of it too!

It's not a bribe, unless you feel it's a bribe ;-) Right!It's positive reinforcement and it's only a bad thing if you tell him constantly: "If you do this, I'll buy you/give you/reward you.. with..."If he gets to a point where he can't do anything without a 'present' then you're in trouble.The water is a scary thing, positive reinforcement and rewards for that are common!